[tor-dev] Proposal: Tor Garlic Routing for .onion Services

Hello Tor Developers,

I’d like to share a draft proposal for enhancing the privacy of Tor hidden services (.onion) through garlic-style routing. This idea is inspired by I2P’s garlic routing model and focuses exclusively on .onion services to avoid exit node issues and reduce network impact.

Proposal Overview

  • Garlic bundles: Multiple encrypted messages (“cloves”) per bundle, including real requests, dummy traffic, and optional instructions.

  • Traffic obfuscation: Mandatory cover traffic, randomized timing, and optional asymmetric send/receive circuits to reduce timing correlation.

  • Goals:

    • Increase resistance to traffic correlation attacks

    • Reduce website fingerprinting risk

    • Enhance end-to-end privacy for hidden services

Key Features

  • Compatible with existing Tor hidden service architecture

  • Optional multipath routing for further anonymity

  • Backward-compatible: Clients and services without garlic routing continue using standard cells

I have attached a draft TIP-style document with full technical details, security analysis, and proposed implementation steps. I would greatly appreciate any feedback, comments, or suggestions from the Tor developer community.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Kester Pembroke

(attachments)

tip-0000-tor-garlic-routing.md (4.06 KB)

Hi,

While I appreciate the initiative to secure Tor, this reeks of AI Slop.
There is no "full technical details" just a bunch of bullet points that are vague and lofty.

Please explain how you would both deliver "cloves" and maintain backwards compatibility with the standard 7 hop onion routing setup.

Regards,

Kester Pembroke via tor-dev:

···

Hello Tor Developers,

I’d like to share a draft proposal for enhancing the privacy of Tor hidden
services (.onion) through garlic-style routing. This idea is inspired by
I2P’s garlic routing model and focuses exclusively on .onion services to
avoid exit node issues and reduce network impact.

Proposal Overview

    -

    Garlic bundles: Multiple encrypted messages (“cloves”) per bundle,
    including real requests, dummy traffic, and optional instructions.
    -

    Traffic obfuscation: Mandatory cover traffic, randomized timing, and
    optional asymmetric send/receive circuits to reduce timing correlation.
    -

    Goals:

    -

       Increase resistance to traffic correlation attacks
       -

       Reduce website fingerprinting risk
       -

       Enhance end-to-end privacy for hidden services

Key Features

    -

    Compatible with existing Tor hidden service architecture
    -

    Optional multipath routing for further anonymity
    -

    Backward-compatible: Clients and services without garlic routing
    continue using standard cells

I have attached a draft TIP-style document with full technical details,
security analysis, and proposed implementation steps. I would greatly
appreciate any feedback, comments, or suggestions from the Tor developer
community.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Kester Pembroke

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